Adapt Or Die: Refiners Face An Impossible Decision

Refinery conversion and closures: this is the shortest summary of things happening in the downstream industry right now. With the pandemic wreaking havoc on oil—and fuel—demand, refiners have found themselves not simply saddled with excessive stocks but facing a future that is shaping up to be quite different from the past. In recent months, French Total announced the conversion of its La Mede refinery in southern France into a biofuels plant with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year. “Biofuels are fully renewable, and an immediately…